Cilantro Soup with Hominy and Pork

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Sunday in Cincinnati it was 60+ degrees and not a cloud in the sky. My boys wore flip flops to church and grills were fired up all over the neighborhood. We were ready for Spring. And…yesterday it snowed. We woke up to the sound of traffic, and the vision of flurries — in an instant my day was turned upside down…

I turned the unexpected snow day into a day of kitchen play. Pork play, actually. I recently accepted a challenge from Ohio Pork Producers Council (OPPC) to get creative with a pound of ground pork. In doing so, I joined a group of food bloggers also eager to showcase their best recipes using ground pork. Together, we are flexing our creative muscles to bring attention to a brilliant initiative to stock up Ohio’s foodbanks. In fact, in less than two minutes of pork play, everyone — food bloggers, kids home on snow days, and anybody else — can make sure a pound of pork is delivered to a foodbank. That’s right, with every view of Ohio’s hog farmers’ short video “Pork from Fork to Farm”, the OPPC and its partners will donate one pound of ground pork to Ohio’s foodbanks. So, although my fridge was not stocked like I’d like it to be for a snow day, it was chock full of ground pork.

In the end, the unexpected snow day was a gift. I love a reason to play with pork all day. Before I decided the following soup recipe was what I would share with you, I seasoned some of the ground pork like breakfast sausage for a killer gravy, some other like chorizo as an accompaniment to fried eggs, and set some more aside for juicy sliders later in the week. Plus, my boys had a grand ol’ time looping “Pork from Fork to Farm”, and I am delighted to think that all of the above will contribute to filling hungry bellies.

Cilantro Soup with Hominy and Pork: this was my favorite result of our day of play. Using just the random ingredients I had on hand, it came together in minutes and warmed us throughout the day. Warm a pot of it for yourself and enjoy a mug each time you watch “Pork from Fork to Farm” this week (scroll all the way down to fire it up). Then, dig into the other recipes created for the OPPC campaign; you’ll find them at the bottom of this post and you’ll enjoy them on snow days and spring days alike.

homemade soup recipe with pork

Yield: Supper for 2

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

cilantro soup ingredients

1/2 White Onion, finely minced

1 Jalapeno, finely minced

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Tbsp Oil

32 Ounces Chicken Stock

1 lb Ground Pork

1 Can Hominy

Lime

Cilantro

homemade soup recipe

Prep your ingredients: Finely mince the onion and jalapeno. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife. Drain the hominy.

To a small saucepot add the oil and turn to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, and jalapeno. Saute until everything is tender.

Next, add the ground pork; cook and crumble the pork.

When the pork has finished cooking, add the chicken stock and the drained hominy; let simmer for 15 minutes.

After the soup has simmered, skim any fat off the top. **If you leave the fat in the soup, it will coat your tongue and you won’t taste all the flavors you’ve layered.**

Finally, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lime and stir in a handful of chopped cilantro. Serve with additional cilantro on top and an extra wedge of lime.

homemade soup tips and tricks

Hominy is a puffed corn kernel and can be found easily in the canned food section. I love adding it to soups in place of noodles because of it’s durability and texture. By adding it to this simple soup, there’s a flavor of a classic corn tortilla.

I worked with what I had available in my pantry, but you could also add thinly sliced red onion, jalapeno slices, charred corn off the cob, or even avocadoes. Play with the seasonal ingredients and what you have on hand!